Word: oldham
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...tendencies, including his bizarrely overt and yet endearing tendency to inject sexual references into otherwise Platonic enough songs of love lost and found (well, mostly lost). The group followed this cover with a beautiful, shuffling version of pre-bluegrass classic “Happy In Prison,” Oldham and Sweeney singing, “For a cross receive a crown,” tying religion into the lyrical framework (as Bonnie himself often does), blurring listeners’ conception of who he is and what he stands...
Bonnie “Prince” Billy (Will Oldham by birth) and Matt Sweeney were at the MFA supporting their recent co-release, “Superwolf,” a triumphantly maudlin recording with lyrics dripping equally with blood and irony. The lyrics have yet to wound, but Oldham’s words do indeed characteristically reference bodily fluids and gory death. The extent of the two musicians’ collaboration is unclear, as the album itself is unmistakably close to Oldham’s past recordings , whose other alter-egos include Palace and Palace Music (with brother...
These particular sheep, it turns out, can sing beautifully. Starting off with a spree of “Superwolf” tracks, Oldham, bearded and bald, and Sweeney, tall and mustachioed, stood shoulder to shoulder. While the former handled the majority of the singing while picking away at what looked like a guitar version of the McCartney style viola-base, the latter harmonized in a higher register while covering most of the guitar work himself. Indeed, Oldham would often swing his axe behind his back and concentrate on singing, switching between stances and making a variety of gestures with...
...being one of the group’s only real interactions with the crowd. It wasn’t so much that they seemed cold or distant, which happens so often, as that songs began one after the other, and it was only after the first few that Oldham acknowledged the stalwart fans before...
...music, hardly noticeable (if present) on Superwolf, juicing up some of the more charged songs (“My Home is the Sea” and “Goat and Ram” both crescendoed in new ways in the live setting). As enigmatic and skittish as Oldham is known to be, he comes off remarkably calm and melody-oriented on both the album and the stage, and because this contrasts some with his past, often frenetic, work, it may be chalked up to Sweeney’s presence and the collaborative nature of the relationship, something relatively unknown...